Thursday, March 03, 2011

13Jun1881, Comments on the Revised Version

LONDON, June 13th-19th, 1881.—One of these days Uncle W. dined with us: we kept off politics and went high-gee into the Revised Version. When he was last ill from overwork and worry a little while ago, he went at it as he lay in bed. He doesn't like it—objects to the pedantry of abjuring all synonyms and quasi-synonyms (as "pity" and "compassion": "immediately" "forthwith" and "straightway") and sticking to one word; of forcing the poor English verbs out of their own manners and customs to fit them into the literal Greek (thus the auxiliary is constantly dropped, to the damage of the sense, i.e., "I glorified Thee on the earth: I finished the work..."). He said translation ought to have an element of instinct in it, which he thought lacking.